India intends to spend $3 billion on Russian shark attack submarines

India is expected to sign an agreement with Russia this week to lease a nuclear-powered attack submarine from Russia. The contract amount is US$3 billion and the nuclear submarine is expected to be delivered in 2025 with a 10-year lease.

[Big orders

Indias Economic Times reported Thursday that India and Russia may sign an intergovernmental agreement on the lease of shark class attack submarines on the 7th, according to a number of people familiar with the situation. India will name the nuclear submarine Chakra-3.

The lease contract, worth $3 billion, is Indias largest defense order after spending $5.5 billion last year to buy the Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile system.

The S-400 system is the fourth generation Russian air defense missile system based on the S-300 system. It was installed in the Russian Army in 2007. It can intercept and destroy air-space attack weapons. It is the most advanced Russian air defense system so far.

This is not the first time India has hired a nuclear submarine from the Soviet Union or Russia.

India leased the nuclear submarine of the Charlie class 670 cruise missile from the Soviet Union in 1988 and named it the Chakra for three years, and then returned it to the Soviet Union. In 2012, India leased a shark-class nuclear submarine from Russia, named Chakra-2, which expired in about 2022.

[To be modified

Indias shark-class nuclear submarine, which is to be leased, has been sealed off since 2014 as one of the main bases of Russias northern fleet, the North Sea port city of North Devinsk. The Economic Times reports that the Chakra-3 will undergo a full modification and installation of a communications and detection system developed in India to reactivate the nuclear power reactor.

According to several sources, after the transformation, the Chakra-3 will be like a new submarine. In addition, the lease of Chakra-2 is believed to be extended for five years to 2027 until the renovation and testing of Chakra-3 have been completed.

Like Charlie, Shark is the code name given to Russian submarines by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, referring to the 971 nuclear submarine. This is the third generation nuclear submarine developed and manufactured by Russia. It was the fastest and quietest submarine of Russian Navy before the launch of the White Wax Tree class 885 attack nuclear submarine. According to the Economic Times, the shark class is second only to the newer U.S. nuclear submarines in terms of concealment and attack capabilities.

The shark class has been improved into three types. Chakra-3 and Chakra-2 belong to shark class III and II, respectively.

India and Russia began to negotiate the lease of the Chakra-3 in 2013, and made progress in the negotiations in 2015. Instead, they negotiated specific details such as technology and rent. (Wang Yijun) (Special Release of Xinhua News Agency)